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A gen z’s viral job hunt sparks massive support, reflectice essay: how to write one.

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Reflective essays are a unique form of writing that invites you to traverse your personal growth and experiences, and imbibe lessons from them. The goal is not just to narrate, but to explore the reflective process that sparks self-discovery and emotional growth. With their diary entry-like structure, these essays are a powerful tool for introspective analysis and critical thinking. Let’s delve into the art of reflective writing and its different facets.

What is a Reflective Essay?

A reflective essay is a personal piece of writing that allows you to express your thoughts, life experiences, and learning experiences through a personal journey. Unlike other forms of essays, it demands a reflective posture, an introspective stance that permits self-reflection and encourages the development of reflective skills like problem-solving, analytical, and critical thinking. As you undergo this reflective process, you may notice a reflective impact in your personal transformation and behavioral changes, underlining the significance of self-awareness in your journey.

The Writing Process of a Reflective Essay

The writing process of a reflective essay is akin to planning a journey of self-discovery. Before you embark, you need to understand your destination. What is the purpose of your essay? What personal experiences and emotions do you wish to explore? Once you have these in mind, you can start planning your essay writing.

When writing, maintain a reflective posture, allowing introspective analysis and critical thinking to guide your words. This reflective thinking, a blend of introspection, self-examination, and critical reflection, will ensure your reflective content remains coherent, systematic, and well-structured.

Personal Growth through Reflective Writing

Writing a reflective essay can lead to substantial personal growth. By analyzing your emotional growth, development, and self-discovery, you’re forced to confront your feelings and thoughts, leading to potential changes and personal transformation. It’s a journey of self-awareness, a reflective impact that shapes you as an individual.

Reflective Structure: Crafting Your Narrative

The reflective structure of your essay is paramount to creating a coherent and engaging narrative. Ensure that your essay has a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. The introduction should present the topic and provide an overview of what will be discussed. The body should be the heart of your reflective content, filled with personal reflection, self-analysis, and introspective writing. The conclusion should summarize the reflective experience, the learning outcomes, and the lessons learned.

Reflective Learning: The Takeaways

Reflective essays are not just about narrating an event; they’re about reflective learning – knowledge acquisition from personal experiences. As you recount your personal journey, remember to highlight the learning outcomes and the lessons learned. Reflective skills like problem-solving and critical thinking can play a key role in this process.

The Impact of Reflective Writing

Reflective writing can have a profound reflective impact. It can lead to behavioral changes, self-awareness, and personal transformation. By delving into your reflective process – the self-reflection, analysis, and evaluation – you can discover how your experiences have shaped you and how you’ve grown from them.

Choosing a Topic for Your Reflective Essay

Choosing the right topic is the first step in the reflective process. Your reflective essay topic should be a personal experience that resonates with you and has had a significant reflective impact on your life. It could be a life-altering event, a learning experience, or a personal journey. Think about events that have led to emotional growth and development or those that sparked self-discovery. These are excellent starting points for your reflective content.

Reflective Posture: Maintaining an Introspective Stance

Having a reflective posture is crucial in writing an effective reflective essay. This means maintaining an introspective analysis and critical thinking approach throughout your writing. This posture encourages self-reflection and promotes a deeper understanding of your experiences. It also fosters the development of reflective skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking, and analytical abilities.

Reflective Structure: Organizing Your Thoughts

Next, you should focus on the reflective structure of your essay. A well-structured essay is coherent, systematic, and easy to follow. An effective reflective structure typically includes an introduction where you introduce your topic and set the tone for the rest of the essay, a body where you delve into your reflective experience and share your introspective writing, and a conclusion that summarizes your personal reflection, the lessons learned, and your overall reflective learning.

Writing the Reflective Content

The reflective content of your essay is where you share your personal reflections and self-analysis. This is the heart of your essay. Here, you recount your reflective experience, share your introspective writing, and discuss the lessons you’ve learned. It’s crucial to remain honest and open in this section. Let your emotions, thoughts, and insights flow freely. Remember, the goal is not just to share an experience but to explore the reflective process that led to personal growth and self-discovery.

Reflective Learning: Extracting Lessons

One of the most important aspects of a reflective essay is reflective learning. This is where you highlight the knowledge you’ve gained, the learning outcomes from your experiences, and the lessons learned. Reflective learning involves a deep examination of your experiences, an analysis of your reactions, and an evaluation of the outcomes. It’s about extracting lessons from your experiences and using them for future growth.

Reflective Skills: Applying Critical Thinking

Reflective skills play a vital role in writing an effective reflective essay. These skills include problem-solving, critical thinking, and analytical abilities. They enable you to delve deeper into your experiences, analyze them, and draw valuable insights. These skills are crucial for the reflective process and can significantly enhance the quality of your reflective content.

Reflective Impact: Understanding the Transformation

Finally, consider the reflective impact of your essay. Reflective writing can lead to personal transformation and behavioral changes, as well as a deeper level of self-awareness. Reflect on how your experiences have impacted you and how they’ve contributed to your growth and development. Highlight these changes and transformations in your essay to give your readers a complete picture of your reflective journey.

Steps for Writing a Reflective Essay

  • Think of an event which could become the topic of your essay. When you have chosen an event, ask yourself how you feel about it, how it affected (or did not affect) your life and why? This will help you create a thesis, which will serve as the focal point of your essay.
  • Make a mind-map. Write down your thesis and draw a circle around it. Now identify your main arguments and ideas which will support it and help readers follow the evolution of your thoughts and experiences, group them into paragraphs which you will write later, and connect them to your central circle. Creating this type of flow diagram will help you see the overall structure of your essay more clearly. Finally, decide on the logical sequence of these paragraphs and order them accordingly.
  • Write a strong opening paragraph. Your introduction must be eye-catching, so the readers become engaged immediately.
  • State your supporting arguments, ideas, and examples in the body paragraphs. Emphasize only one point or experience, as well as reflections on it, within each paragraph.
  • In the first sentence of the conclusion, briefly summarize your thoughts. Think about what you have learned and how your experience might be useful to others. Finish your essay with a rhetorical question to your readers about how they might act in a similar situation. Alternatively, ask them to think about a related topic on their own.

Reflective Essay Topics

Since writing a reflective essay supposes you will write about a personal experience, you can choose whatever event you like. It is almost like a diary, where you write down your thoughts about a significant happening in your life. It can be about reading a special book, a difficult situation you faced, a person you encountered—the main point is to state your opinion. For example, you can write about:

  • A conversation when you became very angry.
  • A time when you were disappointed or discouraged by something someone said.
  • Watching the ocean with your feet buried in the sand.
  • Looking at a sunset.
  • Your room growing up, or your bedroom now.
  • The town where you grew up.
  • Holidays like Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, Valentines, 4th of July, Chinese New Year, Cinco de Mayo, or St. Patrick’s Day.
  • Visiting a museum or zoo.
  • Have I changed because of this? How? Is this good or bad?
  • In what way was this a turning point for me?
  • A trip to an exotic place.
  • A situation involving a human rights infringement in some distant country.
  • A book you have recently read.
  • The solving of a difficult problem.
  • A successfully completed research project.

These are not the only options. Many more other themes could be described in a reflective essay. If you refer to the essay writing service reviews, you will find platforms with examples of similar works. You can start gaining your inspiration on the topic from there.

Key Points to Consider

  • Your introductory paragraph could give a hint about the conclusions in your essay. For example, it could state: “When I first saw a desert with my own eyes, I thought it is was possibly the most lifeless place in the world. However, as I studied it in more detail, I found my surroundings were not quite so desolate as I had imagined.”
  • Since a reflective essay is particularly based on personal experience, it is acceptable to use the personal pronoun “I.”
  • Usage of one or more quotations in the introduction can make your writing more authoritative.
  • In most reflective essays, apart from describing what went right, you may also describe what went wrong, or how an experience could have been improved.

Do and Don’t

Common mistakes when writing a reflective essay.

– The inclusion of too much personal information in your essay. Remember: your main goal is to state your opinion and analyze a certain issue, referring to some of your past experiences and reflecting on them—not to write your autobiography.

– Ignoring the structure of an essay. This results in a disorganized, incoherent text which the reader will find difficult to comprehend.

– Being too informal. When writing a reflective essay, keep a formal tone in mind.

Since you have acquainted yourself with the basic analysis essay writing tips and rules, you can check out our reflective essay samples  to link theory with practice.

To summarize, writing a reflective essay is a personal and introspective journey, one that requires reflective thinking, a suitable reflective structure, and deep reflective content. As you go through this process, remember to focus on your personal growth, the lessons you’ve learned, and the transformative reflective impact of your narrative. With practice and dedication, you can master the art of reflective writing and use it as a tool for self-discovery and personal development.

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Every time I saw people’s highlight moments, I will lament the injustice of God. But looking at them from another angle, you will find that they have found the right direction through countless failures and attempts, and only then have they achieved what they are today. So I started to reflect on myself, why I am not as good as others? After seeing others succeed, I become self-doubt, afraid of failure, afraid of stepping out of the comfort zone, so how can I doing well? I recently saw a passage that I like very much: “Everyone’s flowering period is different. Some people graduated at the age of 22, but waited for five years to find a good job; some people graduated at the age of 28 and entered the world’s one of the top 500 companies in the year; some people started their own company at the age of 30, but passed away at the age of 60; some people became executives at the age of 60, but lived to the age of 90; Some people built their family at the age of 25, but unfortunately return to single after ten years; some people get married at the age of 35 and live a happy life all their lives.”So I started to stop being anxious, learning not to feel dim when seeing other people shining.. After all, everyone got a different life experience card, so just enjoy the moment.

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Samples for reflectice essay: one, the two sides of teamwork essay sample, example, ideal social moral code essay sample, example, information pressure: ignorance is a bliss essay sample, example.

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How to Create a Mind Map for Essay Writing

Last Updated: December 1, 2023 Fact Checked

Generating Your Map

Organizing your map for writing, expert q&a.

This article was co-authored by Jake Adams . Jake Adams is an academic tutor and the owner of Simplifi EDU, a Santa Monica, California based online tutoring business offering learning resources and online tutors for academic subjects K-College, SAT & ACT prep, and college admissions applications. With over 14 years of professional tutoring experience, Jake is dedicated to providing his clients the very best online tutoring experience and access to a network of excellent undergraduate and graduate-level tutors from top colleges all over the nation. Jake holds a BS in International Business and Marketing from Pepperdine University. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 282,863 times.

If you’re a visual learner or just looking to switch up how you outline your essays, mind maps can be a game-changer. They make coming up with ideas for your essay and organizing them super easy. If you’ve never used a mind map for essay writing before, don’t worry—we break down everything you need to know to get started in the steps below.

Things You Should Know

  • Get out a piece of paper and write your topic in the center. This can be a single word or sentence.
  • Then, write down any words and ideas that relate to your topic. Circle them and then draw lines or arrows to connect them to the topic.
  • Label each bubble idea according to where it fits into your paper. This can be a specific paragraph or a general section, like the introduction.

Step 1 Set up your supplies.

  • Lay out the colored markers or pencils to which you have assigned meaning.
  • Orient your paper so that it is in landscape position.
  • If you don't have colored pencils or markers, don't worry. You can still make a mind map with just a pen or pencil!

Step 2 Write your topic in the center of the page.

  • Circle your topic.

Step 3 Write down your associations.

  • Each thing you write down may give you another association. Write that down as well. For instance, writing "Impairment vs. disability" might remind you of "wheelchair ramps."
  • Try to cluster related thoughts together ("wheelchair ramps"—"access to public life"), but don't worry if it doesn't always happen—you can draw a line between things you wish to connect.
  • Look for connections between your unrelated thoughts and jot them into the picture.

Step 4 Draw empty bubbles if you're stuck.

  • You might also label them "supporting argument," "evidence," "counterargument" etc.

Step 5 Sketch, don't draw.

  • Include doodles if they occur to you, but again, don't get caught up in making them perfect.
  • Depending on your age and essay topic, you might want to focus more on drawing pictures than writing out words.

Step 6 Use an online template instead.

  • While there are plenty of programs available for purpose, you can also use free online mapping tools like Bubble.us, Mind42, or Coggle.

Step 1 Label your map.

  • Add details as you go. For instance, you may write some of the sources you are planning to use to the sections of your essay to which they apply.

Step 2 Redraw the map if it gets messy.

  • If you do this, you can start by drawing bubbles for the sections and continue by filling in the thoughts and associations.
  • You can also organize your revised mind map into bubble for topic sentences that branch into smaller bubbles for supporting arguments and evidence.
  • Once you've done this, you practically have a rough draft of your paper.

Step 3 Keep your map by your side as you write.

  • Start each paragraph with a sentence that introduces the ideas of that paragraph, and write until you have incorporated all the information for that section.
  • If you end up adding things that weren't on your map, look at your map to check that they fit, and consider penciling them in. One of the virtues of the map is that it keeps you on topic.
  • Make sure you're not cramming too many points from your mind map into a single paragraph.

Alexander Peterman, MA

You Might Also Like

Make a Mind Map

  • ↑ https://www.adelaide.edu.au/writingcentre/sites/default/files/docs/learningguide-mindmapping.pdf
  • ↑ https://emedia.rmit.edu.au/learninglab/content/how-create-mind-map
  • ↑ https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/using-concept-maps/
  • ↑ Jake Adams. Academic Tutor & Test Prep Specialist. Expert Interview. 20 May 2020.

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reflective essay mind map

How to Write a Reflective Essay: Easy Guide with Pro Tips

reflective essay mind map

Defining What is a Reflective Essay: Purpose + Importance

Being present is a cornerstone of mindfulness and meditation. You must have often heard that staying in the moment helps you appreciate your surroundings, connects you with people and nature, and allows you to feel whatever emotions you must feel without anxiety. While this is helpful advice as you become more focused and avoid getting lost in thought, how can you truly appreciate the present without reflecting on your past experiences that have led you to the current moment?

We don't say that you should dwell on the past and get carried away with a constant thought process, but hey, hear us out - practice reflective thinking! Think back on your previous life events, paint a true picture of history, and make connections to your present self. This requires you to get a bit analytical and creative. So you might as well document your critical reflection on a piece of paper and give direction to your personal observations. That's when the need for reflective essays steps in!

In a reflective essay, you open up about your thoughts and emotions to uncover your mindset, personality, traits of character, and background. Your reflective essay should include a description of the experience/literature piece as well as explanations of your thoughts, feelings, and reactions. In this article, our essay writer service will share our ultimate guide on how to write a reflective essay with a clear format and reflective essay examples that will inspire you.

How to Write a Reflective Essay with a Proper Reflective Essay Outline

To give you a clear idea of structuring a reflective essay template, we broke down the essential steps below. Primarily, the organization of a reflective essay is very similar to other types of papers. However, our custom writers got more specific with the reflective essay outline to ease your writing process.

Reflective Essay Introduction

When wondering how to start a reflective essay, it is no surprise that you should begin writing your paper with an introductory paragraph. So, what's new and different with the reflection essay introduction? Let's dissect:

  • Open your intro with an attention-seizing hook that engages your audience into reflective thinking with you. It can be something like: 'As I was sitting on my bed with my notebook placed on my shaky lap waiting for the letter of acceptance, I could not help but reflect, was enrolling in college the path I wanted to take in the future?'
  • Provide context with a quick overview of the reflective essay topic. Don't reveal too much information at the start to prevent your audience from becoming discouraged to continue reading.
  • Make a claim with a strong reflective essay thesis statement. It should be a simple explanation of the essay's main point, in this example, a specific event that had a big impact on you.

Reflective Essay Body Paragraphs

The next step is to develop the body of your essay. This section of the paper may be the most challenging because it's simple to ramble and replicate yourself both in the outline and the actual writing. Planning the body properly requires a lot of time and work, and the following advice can assist you in doing this effectively:

  • Consider using a sequential strategy. This entails reviewing everything you wish to discuss in the order it occurred. This method ensures that your work is structured and cohesive.
  • Make sure the body paragraph is well-rounded and employs the right amount of analysis. The body should go into the effects of the event on your life and the insights you've gained as a consequence.
  • Prioritize reflecting rather than summarizing your points. In addition to giving readers insight into your personal experience, a reflective stance will also show off your personality and demonstrate your ability to handle certain challenges.

Reflective Essay Conclusion

The goal of your reflective essay conclusion should be to tie everything together by summarizing the key ideas raised throughout, as well as the lessons you were able to take away from experience.

  • Don't forget to include the reasons for and the methods used to improve your beliefs and actions. Think about how your personality and skills have changed as well.
  • What conclusions can you draw about your behavior in particular circumstances? What could you do differently if the conditions were the same in the future?

Remember that your instructor will be searching for clear signs of reflection.

Understanding a Reflection Paper Format

The format of reflective essay greatly differs from an argumentative or research paper. A reflective essay is more of a well-structured story or a diary entry rife with insight and reflection. You might be required to arrange your essay using the APA style or the MLA format.

And the typical reflection paper length varies between 300 and 700 words, but ask your instructor about the word length if it was assigned to you. Even though this essay is about you, try to avoid too much informal language.

If your instructor asks you to use an APA or MLA style format for reflective essay, here are a few shortcuts:

Reflective Essay in MLA Format

  • Times New Roman 12pt font double spaced;
  • 1" margins;
  • The top right includes the last name and page number on every page;
  • Titles are centered;
  • The header should include your name, your professor's name, course number, and the date (dd/mm/yy);
  • The last page includes a Works Cited.

Reflective Essay in APA Style

  • Include a page header on the top of every page;
  • Insert page number on the right;
  • Your reflective essay should be divided into four parts: Title Page, Abstract, Main Body, and References.

Reflective Essay Writing Tips

You may think we've armed you with enough tips and pointers for reflective writing, but it doesn't stop here. Below we gathered some expert-approved tips for constructing uncontested reflection papers.

tips reflective essay

  • Be as detailed as possible while writing. To make your reflective essay writing come to life, you should employ several tactics such as symbolism, sentence patterns, etc.
  • Keep your audience in mind. The reader will become frustrated if you continue writing in the first person without taking a moment to convey something more important, even though you will likely speak about something from your own perspective.
  • Put forth the effort to allow the reader to feel the situation or emotion you are attempting to explain.
  • Don't preach; demonstrate. Instead of just reporting what happened, use description appropriately to paint a clear picture of the event or sensation.
  • Plan the wording and structure of your reflective essay around a central emotion or subject, such as joy, pleasure, fear, or grief.
  • Avoid adding dull elements that can lessen the effect of your work. Why include it if it won't enhance the emotion or understanding you wish to convey?
  • There must be a constant sense of progression. Consider whether the event has transformed you or others around you.
  • Remember to double-check your grammar, syntax, and spelling.

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Reflective Essay Topic Ideas

As a reflective essay should be about your own views and experiences, you generally can't use someone else's ideas. But to help you get started, here are some suggestions for writing topics:

  • An experience you will never forget.
  • The moment you overcame a fear.
  • The most difficult choice you had to make.
  • A time your beliefs were challenged.
  • A time something changed your life.
  • The happiest or most frightening moment of your life so far.
  • Ways you think you or people can make the world a better place.
  • A time you felt lost.
  • An introspective look at your choices or a time you made the wrong choice.
  • A moment in your life you would like to relive.

You may find it convenient to create a chart or table to keep track of your ideas. Split your chart into three parts:

Reflective Essay Topic Ideas

  • In the first column, write key experiences or your main points. You can arrange them from most important to least important.
  • In the second column, list your response to the points you stated in the first column.
  • In the third column, write what, from your response, you would like to share in the essay.

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Reflective Essay Sample

Referring to reflective essay examples can help you a lot. A reflective essay sample can provide you with useful insight into how your essay should look like. You can also buy an essay online if you need one customized to your specific requirements.

How to Conclude a Reflective Essay

As we come to an end, it's only logical to reflect on the main points discussed above in the article. By now, you should clearly understand what is a reflective essay and that the key to writing a reflective essay is demonstrating what lessons you have taken away from your experiences and why and how these lessons have shaped you. It should also have a clear reflective essay format, with an opening, development of ideas, and resolution.

Now that you have the tools to create a thorough and accurate reflective paper, you might want to hand over other tasks like writing definition essay examples to our experienced writers. In this case, feel free to buy an essay online on our platform and reflect on your past events without worrying about future assignments!

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Extended Essay: Using Brainstorming and Mind Maps

  • Extended Essay- The Basics
  • Step 1. Choose a Subject
  • Step 2. Educate yourself!
  • Using Brainstorming and Mind Maps
  • Identify Keywords
  • Do Background Reading
  • Define Your Topic
  • Conduct Research in a Specific Discipline
  • Step 5. Draft a Research Question
  • Step 6. Create a Timeline
  • Find Articles
  • Find Primary Sources
  • Get Help from Experts
  • Search Engines, Repositories, & Directories
  • Databases and Websites by Subject Area
  • Create an Annotated Bibliography
  • Advice (and Warnings) from the IB
  • Chicago Citation Syle
  • MLA Works Cited & In-Text Citations
  • Step 9. Set Deadlines for Yourself
  • Step 10. Plan a structure for your essay
  • Evaluate & Select: the CRAAP Test
  • Conducting Secondary Research
  • Conducting Primary Research
  • Formal vs. Informal Writing
  • Presentation Requirements
  • Evaluating Your Work

Brainstorming

Coggle.it is a free, easy-to-use web application for creating beautiful informative diagrams and mindmaps.

 For a tutorial video introduction, click the Coggle:  

reflective essay mind map

Mind Map Inspiration

If you find it easier you can, of course, brainstorm and mind map on a big piece of paper with some colored pens or a big board with some post-it notes!

Choose whichever method works best for you.

At  Mind Map Inspiration  artist  Paul Foreman offers example Mind Maps ® for inspiration and motivation, plus mindmapping tips, drawing tips, techniques for enhancing your creativity, and improving idea generation.

See the process of mind mapping from start :

©Paul Foresman http://www.mindmapinspiration.com

Mind Maps ® were invented by Tony Buzan

Mindmapping helps us progress from linear (one-dimensional) through lateral (two-dimensional) to radiant (multi-dimensional) thinking.

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6.2 Mind maps

Mind maps are also known as concept maps or ‘spider’ diagrams. These and other visual representations involving diagrams, sketches, cartoons and the use of colour, are useful creative tools that help to structure, categorise and make connections between ideas. They steer away from ‘linear’ thinking, provide you with an overview of key concepts and their connections, and help reflective learning become visually engaging, dynamic and memorable. Mind maps are also useful tools for structuring your thoughts for an assignment, and for planning and drafting essays, reports, projects and dissertations. They will help to motivate you, and get your academic writing off to a good start. You can use this technique to relate relevant ideas and information from study materials and other resources to each other as you study, or to summarise and reflect on your knowledge and understanding, and research on a particular topic at the end of a block or unit of study. Your mind map will grow and evolve to reflect your own learning, as you make progress with your studies. View this brief presentation to learn more about this technique.

reflective essay mind map

Transcript: Session 2, slidecast 1: tools for reflective learning – mind maps

Pause briefly here to reflect on your learning by completing Activity 2 below.

Activity 2 Active reflection

Consider the following questions:

  • What has been the most useful thing that you have learned so far from Session 2?
  • What one question remains uppermost in your mind, and why?
  • In what way is what you have learned in this session relevant to your personal life or professional practice?

Previous

How to Write a Reflective Essay Fast and Easy

So, you’re here to learn how to write a reflective essay. Great!

There’s something special in this paper: While it remains formal because of its academic nature, a reflection essay is also about the author’s thoughts and emotions, which makes it less formal than other essay types. With that in mind, it’s critical to find and support that “formality” balance when writing.

In this article, we’ll reveal the types of reflection papers, explain their formatting rules, and describe how to organize the process of reflective essay writing step by step.

What is a Reflection Paper?

A reflection paper is an essay where you express, analyze, and evaluate your thoughts on a particular topic.

The purpose is to train and demonstrate your critical thinking and analytical skills. When a teacher asks you to write a reflection essay, they expect you to develop the ability to express thoughts and emotions by analyzing them.

Topics are different:

You can write a reflective essay on a book, article, or movie. Or, feel free to share your reflections on a person or an event that has influenced you. You may also want to analyze your previous works in a reflective essay, to evaluate them and specify the ways for improvement.

The types of reflection papers are two:

  • Personal , aka experiential. It’s about the reflections on your personal experiences and their transformations to the learning ones.
  • Reading , aka critical. Here you share reflections on other materials, such as books , films, articles, music, any other work of art, etc.

Reflection Paper Format: Before Writing

  • Choose a topic
  • Create a mind map
  • Write an outline

The process of reflective essay writing consists of several steps, three of which relate to a pre-writing stage. What does it mean?

Before you sit and write a draft, it’s critical to choose a promising topic (if you didn’t get any particular pre-assigned), come up with a reflection question you’ll address, and write a detailed outline so it would be fast and easy to write a reflective essay step by step.

Ready? Let’s begin the journey!

Still in doubt or have no time to examine all the details?

reflective essay mind map

1 — Choosing a Topic for a Reflection Essay

When students ask how to write a good reflective essay, they forget that a properly chosen topic equals around 70% of success.

In school or college, teachers often assign particular topics for reflection papers. If nothing assigned, it’s you who chooses a subject to describe, analyze, and evaluate your thoughts and emotions on it.

Brainstorm topic ideas:

Think of a material (a book, a movie, etc.) or an event that could become the topic for your essay. Remember that you will need to analyze it, not only describe it: Do your best to choose topics of your interests. Consider the following questions:

  • What experience would you like to share?
  • What have you learned from it?
  • Why has it influenced you so much? What impressed you most?

The goal is to brainstorm several possible topics with short summaries of your experience on each. Thus you’ll see which topic sounds most promising and thesis-friendly.

What can become a topic for your reflective essay?

  • A significant place where you’ve been
  • Some one-time experience you had
  • Any repeated experience of yours
  • Life-changing events: a special day, a time when you failed, the moment when you overcame a fear, a memory, a conversation, etc.
  • Something you’ve heard, seen, read, or watched
  • A person who influenced you: a parent, siblings, a friend, a teacher (life coach), you name it!

2 — Mind Mapping Your Future Essay

Now that you have a topic, it’s time to create a mind map for your future essay: That’s when you decide on a reflection question. How will you organize and connect ideas into a clear thesis and cohesive picture?

First, write a thesis.

Now, identify the main arguments you’ll use to support it for readers to understand the evolution of your experiences and thoughts. Group the arguments into the future paragraphs of your reflective essay; decide on their logical sequence.

Such a map will help you better understand the structure of your future essay and ensure it will have all five components required for reflection papers: DEEAA .

  • Description: What happened
  • Emotions: Your reaction to that experience
  • Evaluation: How valuable it was for you, the influence of that experience
  • Analysis: Lessons you’ve learned
  • Action: What you’re going to do with that experience

Mention all five in your essay’s mind map so you won’t miss anything when writing.

3 — How to Write a Reflective Essay Outline

To make the writing process easier, prepare a reflective essay outline beforehand. It’s like a plan for your future work: It mentions all the elements so you won’t forget any critical information while writing.

Below is a template you can use. (Sure thing, you’ll need to adjust it to your topic, paper type, and statements you’ll describe and analyze.) As well as most other college papers, reflective essays consist of an introduction, 2-4 body paragraphs, and a conclusion:

reflective essay mind map

Reflection paper format:

Before writing, it would also help to know how to format a reflection paper. While your teacher may prescribe different requirements you’ll need to follow, the general format rules for reflective essays are:

  • Length: between 300 and 700 words
  • Text size: 12 points
  • Margins: 1 inch
  • Fonts: Times New Roman or Arial (Calibri sometimes)
  • Citation: APA or Chicago
  • Spaces: Double

How to Write a Reflective Essay

  • Introduction

The pre-writing stage is finally over! Now it’s time to write a draft of your reflective essay. Below are your practical tips on crafting its every part:

1 — How to Start a Reflective Essay

An introduction paragraph of your reflective essay consists of three parts: a hook, background information on the topic, and a thesis statement. If you have a fear of a blank page or don’t know how to start your essay, it’s okay to write a body first: When you’ve covered the main part, it will be easier to craft a compelling introduction for your work.

How to start a reflective paper:

  • Make your introduction catchy yet informative. Start with a hook to get people interested in reading your work: ask a question, share a surprising fact, make a controversial statement, etc.
  • After the hook, write one or two sentences describing your topic and providing the audience with some background information: what you’ll discuss, your expectations, etc.
  • Finish your introduction with a thesis statement. It’s a core element of every essay; reveal your position on the topic and tell how you’ll explain it throughout the paper.

2 — Writing a Reflective Essay Body

A reflective essay body is 2-4 paragraphs where you explain, analyze, and evaluate your thoughts and feelings regarding the topic. Here you’ll use arguments (one per paragraph) and supporting evidence to prove your thesis statement.

The must-mention elements of your essay’s body:

  • Evaluation: What did you like or dislike about the experience you describe in the essay?
  • Analysis and criticism: What you’ve learned from the experience; what alternative opinions do you disagree with?
  • Explanation: What causes and effects led you to such reflection; how may it influence the future you?

3 — How to Conclude a Reflective Paper

A final paragraph of a reflective paper is about summarizing the points, restating the thesis, and reflecting on your knowledge gaps.

Mention the core aspects of your essay body, say what you still don’t know about the topic, and write your ideas on how to change that. Be concise: A reflective essay conclusion is a paragraph of 3-5 sentences, so craft it in the best way possible.

Dos and Don’ts of Reflection Essay Writing

As you already know, we ask our professional writers for practical advice on most topics we cover on this blog. This time, we asked them to share some dos and don’ts for students to consider when writing a reflection essay.

Here they go:

reflective essay mind map

And here go some more tips on how to write a successful reflective essay:

  • Share your experience, be honest and sincere
  • Provide details, use your narration skills
  • Analyze and evaluate your experience
  • Illustrate your points with examples
  • Stick to the topic and remain concise: Remember you have up to 700 words only
  • Maintain a professional tone

Now that you know how to write a good reflective essay for a university, it’s time to go and craft one for your professor to get wowed and give you the highest grade! Follow the tips from this guide, and you’ll write an essay fast.

Sure thing, reflective papers aren’t about academic or college life only. We all share reflections and opinions on social media or personal blogs, so we believe this post has come in handy for every active online user.

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  • Essay writing
  • Writing tips

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The Ultimate Guide to Writing a Reflective Essay: Format, Tips and 5 Examples

Jul 28, 2023

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Jul 28, 2023 | Blog

A reflective essay is not so much a conventional college essay as it is. A piece of writing that allows you to explore a particular experience in your life and then come up with meaningful conclusions based on that experience. The main point here is that this writing assignment is designed to make you think and analyze what you think about something.

What Is a Reflective Essay?

A reflective essay is a unique form that aims to observe, examine, and describe an individual or personal experience that the author has had. When writing such an essay, you must remember that the focus is on your deeper inner emotions rather than the event. The key is to make your essay reflective, and the key to achieving that is to put your personality into it.

Below we will explain how to write reflective essays, various formats, the purposes, and the importance of a reflective essay, and provide useful tips to make the writing process easier.

Related Posts

  • How to Write a Self-Reflection Essay: Format and 3 Examples
  • Navigating Common Formatting Mistakes in Literature Review
  • How to Effectively Analyze, Interpret and Write a Diagnostic Essay Prompt

What Is the Purpose of Reflective Writing

  • Unlike essays you’ve been writing for class, this essay is meant to reflect yourself. It’s meant to reveal something about you that isn’t already obvious.
  • Reflective writing also helps you learn from a particular practical experience. It will help you connect what you are taught in theory and what you must do in practice.
  • Reflective writing encourages you to observe your life experiences and beliefs – for instance, your own experiences as a learner or your observations from teaching rounds – and link these with the theoretical learning in your subject. This can help you develop and reinforce knowledge about theories, better understand particular concepts, and reflect critically on the practical realities of specific situations and the theoretical knowledge that informs your understanding of them.
  • To improve your critical thinking skills,
  • To think about past events more objectively,
  • To gain new knowledge about an event or similar situation,
  • To learn from your past experiences,
  • To become aware of your strengths and weaknesses.

What Do I Write About?

It is the question that every student must ask before writing a reflective article. Here is a list of reflection questions and ideas to help you get started:

  • A time you felt lost .
  • A time your beliefs were challenged.
  • The moment you overcame a fear.
  • A moment in your life you would like to relive.
  • Ways you think you or people can make the world a better place.
  • The most difficult choice you had to make.
  • An introspective look at your choices or a time you made the wrong choice.
  • The happiest or most frightening moment of your life so far.
  • An experience you will never forget.
  • A time something changed your life.

Reflective Essays Format

A reflective essay format is not very different from other essays, such as argumentative or expository essays. The basic difference between them is that it is written about personal experiences.

Here is the format:

Introduction

  • Identify the focus
  • Outline scope
  • State thesis statement

Main Body Paragraphs

  • Supporting details
  • Background information
  • Summarize the main essay
  • Restate the thesis statement

You might also be required to arrange your essay using the APA style or the MLA format . If asked to format your paper in MLA or APA styles, apply these shortcuts:

Reflective Essay in APA Style

  • Insert page number on the right;
  • Times New Roman 12 pt font double spaced;
  • Your reflective essay should be divided into four parts: Title Page, Abstract, Main Body paragraphs, and References.
  • Include a page header on the top of every page;
  • 1” margins;

Reflective Essay in MLA Format

  • The header should include your name, your professor’s name, course number, and the date (dd/mm/yy);
  • Titles are centered;
  • The top right includes the last name and page number on every page;
  • The last page includes Works Cited.

How to Write a Reflective Essay?

Writing a reflective essay is not persuasive; you have to convince your readers to accept your opinion. You have to share an experience. However, writing such essays can be challenging for students as it requires them to use high-level thinking skills. To make it easier for you, here is a guide on how to write a reflective essay:

Choose a Good Topic

The first step is to choose a topic that is meaningful or important to you. Think about things that have happened recently in your life or experiences. Consider situations or events that inspired you made you emotional or changed your outlook on life. You could even think about something that happened to someone else and how it somehow impacted them (or even yourself). For example, if your friend could not physically exercise for several weeks due to a broken leg, you might reflect on how this impacted them emotionally, socially, and academically.

Research your Topic

After choosing your topic, start by doing some research on it. If you chose a moment, determine what caused the event or memory and the outcome. If conflict or issue arose because of this event, try to see why it happened and what lessons you learned. Take notes while conducting your research so that you don’t forget any details or facts when writing the body paragraphs of your essay.

Create a chart or table to keep track of all your information

To ensure you haven’t missed anything, we recommend creating a chart or table to keep track of all your information. This will help you organize your thoughts and keep them on the right track for an effective essay.

Recognize your Experience

It would help if you considered writing a reflective essay as an opportunity to reflect on what you’ve done and how it affected you. Take some time to think about your experiences and how they impacted you before jumping into the writing process.

This can be done by thinking about what happened on that particular day, what it was like when it happened, how you felt, and anything else that may have occurred.

Ask Yourself Some Questions

The next important thing you need to do is ask yourself some reflection questions. For example, did something happen that day? What made you feel the way you did? If it was something that didn’t make you feel good, what did you do about it? What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? How could someone else benefit from what you learned in this difficult situation?

Organize the Essay

Like many other essays, a great reflective essay should be between 300 and 700 words long. If you find yourself exceeding that number of words, look at your reflection paper outline and see if there are any areas where you can cut down on words or omit them entirely. This can often mean removing some of the less important facts about your experience or the experience of others. Following this guideline will help ensure that your paper does not feel too short or wordy.

Follow the Best Reflective Essay Structure

First, write an introductory paragraph that grabs your reader’s attention and lets them know what they’re getting into. Then comes the essay’s body: three or four paragraphs discussing the main arguments or position (depending on whether or not you’re writing an argumentative paper). Each paragraph should have one central point, written clearly in a topic sentence at the end, so your reader knows where you’re headed next. Then wrap up everything you’ve said by writing a conclusion.

Revise your Reflective Paper

One of the critical points of your reflection paper is revising it. The first step to a well-written reflective essay is to read through your essay more than once. This might be time-consuming, but it is worth it. That’s because you will have a chance to review the ideas you’ve expressed in the paper and ensure they are relevant and logical. Also, revising your paper allows you to correct grammatical or spelling mistakes and add some new information you might have missed while writing the first draft.

Steps for Writing a Reflective Essay

1. make a mind map..

Before you begin writing, make a mind map of your experience. A mind map is a diagram that helps writers organize their thoughts. It’s easy to create, and it can be done by hand or on a computer. The goal of the mind map is to identify key points, then branch out into relevant subtopics.

A mind map will help you structure your essay and organize your thoughts and experiences. It’s also a good way to see where there are gaps in your recollection so that you can fill them in later on.

For example, if you want to write about your first day of school (a common topic), start with a central point: “I didn’t make any friends.” From there, branch out into subtopics like “it was hard for me because I was shy and didn’t know anyone” or “I was scared because I didn’t know where my classroom was.

2. Make an outline

Although reflective essays aren’t fictional and don’t require a plot, you should still outline them. In our previous post, ‘How to Write an Informative Essay Outline – Full Guide,’ we mentioned the importance of listing relevant talking points before writing. This helps organize your thoughts so that your discussion is more organic. This applies to the experiences you want to feature in your reflective essay.

In an interview on her writing process,  Samantha Irby explained to EW that her ideas and memories are usually outlined. That much was evident in her essay “Lesbian Bed Death,” which chronicled moments in a relationship and how her perceptions of love changed. Likewise, “Body Negativity” cataloged how women maintain their appearance to satisfy societal expectations. Ultimately, outlining helps you structure your essay so that your story or message is better conveyed to readers.

3. Entertain different perspectives in the piece

Reflective essays usually require a bit of meandering. This lets you explore different topics in your piece, like events, people, or places. In Leslie Jamison’s essay “Since I Became Symptomatic,” she ponders when she and her daughter were both sick and in quarantine. Her experiences became the stepping stone to discussing parenthood and the American healthcare system.

Reflective essays aren’t only limited to your memories and can revolve around your perceptions about culture.  The Scribd document “Why Art Involves Experience”  meditates on the intersection between art and experience. In it, Full Diane Siño doesn’t touch on any one specific memory and instead gravitates more towards weaving different ideas by philosophers like John Dewey. It can be a fascinating read if you don’t confine your reflective essay to one subject alone.

4. Open with a powerful paragraph

A strong paragraph (solid first sentence) will interest your reader. Virginia Woolf’s essay “Death of a Moth” is an excellent example of a powerful opening. She began by imbuing moths with humanistic traits, stating they aren’t excited over autumn nights or content with life.

As the essay progressed, it became clear that the moth was a way for Woolf to talk about life and death. This revelation stood out more upon recalling the first paragraph.

Similarly, Reshma Memon Yaqub started “The Washing” with, “I hadn’t planned to wash the corpse. But sometimes you just get caught up in the moment….” The line naturally evoked curiosity but was about the traditional Muslim ritual of washing a relative’s body before death. All those considered, ensure your opening paragraph contains vivid details about an experience. This way, it’s packed with an emotional punch.

5. End by posing a question to your readers

It would be best to conclude reflective essays with a summary of your thoughts. For one, look back on the experiences you’ve covered. What have you learned from them? More importantly, it would be best to encourage your readers to do the same. What can they yield from the moments and ideas you presented?

Interestingly, Hanif Abdurraqib is a compelling essayist who offers his readers one last thought to chew on. He ended “Carly Rae Jepsen and the Kingdom of Desire” by asking if love and everything in between were genuinely fleeting. And in his essay “They Will Speak Loudest of You After You’ve Gone,” Abdurraqib left readers wondering  about the value of black people’s lives within the media. Those endings can ensure that your essay will leave a lasting impression on your readers.

Reflective Essay Topics

  • What is the best thing that happened to you this year?
  • Name a time when you felt like an outsider at school. How did it make you feel?
  • Do you have any regrets from high school? If so, what are they, and why do they bother you?
  • A time when you made a mistake but learned from it
  • The most challenging situation you’ve faced in life and how you overcame it
  • A positive change you would like to see in the world
  • How You’ve Changed as a Person Over Time
  • Your Views on Love and Relationships
  • What You Want to Accomplish in Life
  • The Things That Make You Feel Happy and Satisfied With Yourself
  • The Reasons Why You Make Certain Decisions in Life
  • List three movies that changed your life, and describe how they did so.
  • Describe an experience that made you appreciate the value of silence in a noisy world.
  • Share a story about how your parents’ strict rules helped you mature.
  • How do you think people will remember your time on this earth?
  • What is one thing that has been weighing on your mind lately?

Reflective Essay Outline

Don’t know how to write a great reflective essay outline ? Here’s how:

The introduction is where you introduce your topic, state the purpose of your paper, and give any background information that the reader needs to understand the rest of the essay. This is where you tell the reader why they should care about what you’re writing about, so make it count! You can also use this space to provide context for your topic—you might want to give a short history lesson here or explain why it’s important to understand this topic. There should also be a thesis statement, which is one sentence that describes the overall point of your essay.

The introduction of your reflective essay should start with a hook statement — an attention-grabbing statement that sets the tone for your entire piece. You can do this in a variety of ways, such as:

  • Sharing an anecdote that relates to the topic at hand
  • Asking a question for readers to answer
  • Giving a fact about the subject you will be discussing in your essay

You can move on to give a little background and context on the topic, leading up to the thesis statement, which is what you want readers to walk away thinking about.

Body Paragraphs

You will build each body paragraph around an idea or event related to the topic of your reflective essay. Under each idea or event, you will want to write about how it impacted you and somehow changed your life (or at least thinking). This is where you may need to reexamine and reflect upon instances in your life that have led to changes in how you think about your subject.

Include three main points in your body paragraphs—these will become the topic sentences for each that relates to the thesis statement, followed by evidence supporting that idea. Each body paragraph should have three sentences: one stating what the paragraph is about, one explaining why this is important in your larger thesis statement, and a final sentence that sums up what you said in this paragraph.

Write a concluding paragraph that wraps up what you’ve said in the body paragraphs and leaves the reader with something new to

In the last paragraph of your essay, tell the reader why they should care about what you’ve written. What is its purpose? Hopefully, this will make them think more deeply about their lives and how they interact with other people around them.

Reflective Essay Examples

Referring to reflective essay examples can help you a lot. A sample paper can provide you with useful insight into how a reflection essay should look like.

Reflective Essay Example for High School

Reflective essay example, tips for writing a reflective essay.

Reflective essays are a fun way to allow yourself to reflect on your experiences. They can be a great way to get to know yourself better and allow you to dig deep and explore your emotions. The following tips can help you write an excellent reflective essay:

  • Start by identifying what you’d like to reflect on. Maybe it’s your first time driving long-distance solo, or maybe it’s a book that impacted you. Whatever it is, make sure it’s something significant in your life or that has been significant in the lives of others.
  • Pick a topic that interests you. You’ll have to think about and reflect on this topic, so you should pick something engaging or important to you.
  • Map out how you want your essay to flow for clarity. Planning helps ensure you don’t waste time wondering what comes next in your essay.
  • Explain the significance of each event or new experience you describe in your essay. This will help show how the experience fits your life and why it’s important.
  • Write about specific events or experiences in depth rather than covering too many topics simultaneously. This will help ensure that it is easier for readers to follow along and understand what’s going on in your essay.
  • Write in the first person without using “I.” For example: “my teacher,” not “I.”
  • Don’t worry about using formal language—the main goal is for the reader to feel like they’re getting a glimpse into the inner workings of your mind. Because of this, try to use language that is natural and easy to read.
  • Try starting with a personal anecdote or powerful quote, then follow it up with some analysis of its significance to you or the topic.
  • Support your thesis statement with strong arguments
  • Keep it short and to the point
  • Provide your point of view about the related topic
  • Do not add irrelevant details
  • Write the essay with an overall emotion or theme in mind
  • Try to make the essay credible and informative
  • Don’t make any grammatical errors

Get Help from the Experts with your Reflective Essay

Whether you are a student or a professional, we are ready to assist you when you are looking for reflective essay help with writing your reflective essay paper. We have a lot of experience writing reflective essays and can provide you with a high-quality paper that reflects your personality and thoughts.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do you start a reflective essay.

As with all essays, your reflective essay must begin with an introduction that contains both a hook and a thesis statement. The point of having a ‘hook’ is to grab the attention of your audience or reader from the very beginning.

Can you say I in a reflective essay?

In your reflective essay, use the first person with terms like I, me, my, and mine. The essay accounts for something that happened to you and your thoughts on the event.

What makes a good reflective essay?

Academic reflective writing requires critical and analytic thought, a clear line of argument, and the use of evidence through examples of personal experiences and thoughts and often also theoretical literature. It would help if you aimed to balance personal experience, tone, academic practice, and rigor.

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How to Use Mind Maps for an Effective Essay Writing

Edraw content team, do you want to learn more about using mind maps for an effective essay writing.

EdrawMind specializes in diagramming and visualizing. Learn from this article to know everything about How to Use Mind Maps for an Effective Essay Writing !

Being a student, writing an effective essay is a difficult task for you. But you can make it easy if you know how to use mind maps. Creating a mind map for essay writing helps you visualize the idea before writing it.

So, do you want to create mind maps? If yes, read this article explaining how to use mind maps for essays .

Mind mapping

1. What Are Mind Maps for Essays

A mind map is a technique for centrally organizing thoughts on a particular concept. This visual thinking tool makes it easier to analyze, remember, understand, summarize, and develop new ideas by managing the data. Let us know by taking a mind map essay example . You want to write about your best friend, including his hobbies, details about his parents, and his likes and dislikes. Mind mapping would be the technique you will use to visualize the content going along in your 'best friend' essay.

Mind mapping

Here are some benefits of using a mind map for writing an essay:

  • The student can order the segments according to their subtopics.
  • The student can refer to the mind map to see if they missed any important topics.
  • If a student includes a mind map in an essay, it will help a reader to understand the issues quickly.
  • The student makes sure they have all the necessary information before writing the essay by creating a mind map.
  • Before an exam, a student can quickly review his mind maps for revision.

2. How to Prepare the Essay Using a Mind Map

Now that you know what a mind map is and how beneficial it is for essay writing. So, let's learn how to prepare an English essay mind map for essay writing .

2.1 Research the essay's topic

Finding a unique concept or a less popular subject is the first step in essay writing. If you choose to write about a topic for your essay that has already been discussed, it may be difficult for your research to take a real stand.

Instead, choosing an essay topic that interests you personally, or at least isn't too difficult for you to discuss, is advised. The process of writing an essay will be less tedious if you select a topic that is personal to you. To research the case of an article, do brainstorming.

To brainstorm, take a piece of paper and write down everything you know about a particular topic. Then, write your ideas by using keywords.

Research topic

2.2 Planning the essay

One of the critical steps in writing an essay is research. Unfortunately, students often waste a lot of time simply attempting to put all the various pieces of information together. So, creating an essay planning mind map is essential so students can easily organize and collect their data.

Moreover, making notes in a mind map as you read each source (book, article, or essay) helps you retain the information. You could also use a single map where you list all your references and make branches for each page, paragraph, and quote you plan to use in your essay.

To organize the information from the brainstorming, decide on the main categories. Then, tie the additional information to those in the manner described below:

Planning an essay

2.3 Outline and write the essay

The third step is to create an outline of your essay before you start writing it. It will help you to organize your arguments, counterarguments, examples, and sources in a logical order. A mind map makes it simple to review the outline and find the data one needs for their essay.

Whenever you find yourself getting off track while writing or when you are unsure of where to go next, you can quickly review this outline. Then, once outlining is done, start writing.

Outline an essay

3. Mind Map Templates for Different Essays

There are different kinds of essays in academic writing. You can make a mind map as a student for various essays and then use these procedures to write the essay. Let's see 5 different types of essay outlines explained with mind maps. These essay mind map templates help you to write outstanding essays.

3.1 Argumentative Essay Mind Map

Argumentative Essay Mind Map

To write an argumentative essay, a student must be analytical. He must research a subject, gather information, come up with points, analyze the evidence gathered, and take a position.

So, use an argumentative essay mind map. By doing so, you will have different segments while outlining the essay's investigative and evaluative stages.

3.2 Comparative Essay Mind Map

Comparative Essay Mind Map

Students write this type of essay when they need to highlight the similarities and differences between two or more subjects. Writing this type of essay is a fantastic way to show those topics or concepts frequently misunderstood by one another. It is easy to see the differences and similarities between the two subjects in this essay by using a comparison essay mind map.

3.3 Research Essay Mind Map

Research Essay Mind Map

A research essay is an essay that offers information on a specific subject that you have looked into and is unrelated to you. By doing research, you can find out more about the subject. The research outline mind map gives students a plan of action, especially at the beginning of the research. It can be applied as a critical thinking technique for problem-solving. Looking at this essay mind map template, you can easily concentrate on and comprehend the target ideas.

3.4 Thesis Statement Essay mind map

Thesis Statement Essay Mind Map

A thesis statement is a statement that summarizes the key idea of your essay. Usually, it follows your introduction. Your thesis will be slightly different depending on the type of essay you are writing. But the main point you want to make is always stated in the thesis statement. For this, follow the thesis statement essay mind maps. This essay mind map template is beneficial in deciding the best thesis statement for your essay.

3.5 Interpretive essay mind map

Interpretive Essay Mind Map

An interpretive essay is a form of writing that recognizes, assesses, and analyzes the author's methods in a specific work. This essay offers an interpretation of a previously published form of writing.

4. Tips for Essay Mind Maps

If you adhere to some tips for  mind maps for essays , writing essays can be enjoyable. So, here are some tips for essay mind maps that you must follow:

  • Always place the topic you want to talk about in the middle of the mind map. 

You should save money to cover any unexpected financial needs.

  • Use images, icons, and colors whenever you can. These serve as mental triggers and can help in your ability to generate fresh ideas.

Investing is essential for growing money so that you can achieve your goals.

  • To write the ideas on to the branches, always use relevant keywords.

Financial security through insurance ensures that you and your family can get through difficult times.

  • Draw lines to indicate cross-links between the information in different parts of a mind map.

5. Conclusion

In this article, we have discussed everything that you must know. So, if you want to save time and other resources, use mind map templates for different essays.

You can find these templates on EdrawMind . Unlike other software, this has an excellent user interface with straight forward drag-and-drop features. So what are you waiting for, then? Create a mind map for the essay right away by downloading EdrawMind.

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Reflective Essay

Barbara P

Reflective Essay - Writing Steps with Examples, Tips, and Topics

Published on: Sep 21, 2020

Last updated on: Jan 29, 2024

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A reflective essay is a form of writing where the writer reflects on a personal experience. Have you been assigned one but don’t know how to write? 

Don’t fret! 

Read on to learn in simple steps and follow the useful tips and examples given below. By the end of the blog, you will know everything you need to write an excellent reflective essay.

So let’s dive in!

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What is a Reflective Essay?

A reflective essay is a type of essay where the writer describes a personal experience or event that they observed or examined. Reflective writing involves thinking or pondering about a specific topic and writing your thoughts.

The content of a reflective essay is subjective. This means, the writer discusses the topic from their own personal point of view.  

The writer presents their thoughts and reflections in a structured and coherent manner. It combines elements of storytelling, analysis, and introspection to create a narrative that engages the reader and offers valuable insights.

What is the Purpose of Reflective Writing? 

Self-reflective essays are often used as an opportunity to explore your thoughts and feelings more deeply. The main goals of reflective writing are to;

  • Make a connection between yourself and the text 
  • Analyze what you have heard, read, or seen
  • Write subjectively and help identify your interests
  • Think about what you have learned.
  • Develop your critical and narrative skills

Here is a video that reflective writing in simple terms:

How to Write a Reflective Essay? 

Reflective essays can be very difficult to write. However, following the steps below can make your writing process easier and more effective.

  • Select a Meaningful Topic

The first step in writing a great reflective essay is to choose a good topic. You need to do a lot of brainstorming, mind mapping , and a bit of research to come up with a good topic. 

Choose a topic that holds personal significance for you. It could be a specific event, a challenging situation, a memorable encounter, or a period of personal growth. Select a topic that allows for deep introspection and provides ample material for reflection.

  • Reflect and Introspect

Ponder on your chosen topic and explore your thoughts, feelings, and reactions associated with it. 

Ask yourself probing questions, such as " How did this experience impact me? " or " What did I learn from this situation? " This introspective phase forms the foundation of your essay, allowing you to dig deep and extract valuable insights.  

  • Develop a Clear Thesis Statement

Craft a concise and focused thesis statement that encapsulates the main point or lesson learned from your reflection. 

This statement will serve as a guiding principle for your essay, ensuring that your writing remains coherent and purposeful. 

  • Chart an Outline

Create an outline that organizes your thoughts and provides a logical structure for your essay. 

Divide your essay into sections including the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Outline the main ideas, experiences, and reflections you plan to include in each section.

Want to learn more about how to create an outline? Here is our comprehensive reflective essay outline guide for you.

  • Write a Catchy Introduction

Start your essay with an attention-grabbing opening that sets the tone and introduces the topic to the reader. 

Engage your audience by sharing a captivating anecdote, posing a thought-provoking question, or presenting a compelling quote. Clearly state your thesis to provide a roadmap for your reflective journey.

  • Write Main Body Paragraphs

In the body paragraphs, vividly describe the experiences or events that shaped your reflection. Use sensory details and specific examples to paint a clear picture for your readers.

After describing the experience, delve into the reflection and analysis phase. Explore the significance of the experience and its impact on your personal growth, beliefs, or worldview. 

Analyze the reasons behind your thoughts, emotions, and reactions. 

  • Provide a Thoughtful Conclusion

Wrap up your essay by summarizing your main points and reinforcing the significance of your reflection. Share the insights and lessons you gained from the reflection process. 

For instance, what did you learn about yourself? How did this experience contribute to your personal development? 

Be honest and authentic in your reflections, demonstrating vulnerability and self-awareness. Don't present new information here, but summarize everything that happened in the essay.

  • Revise and Edit

Once you have completed your first draft, revise and edit your essay for clarity, coherence, and grammar. Pay attention to the flow of your ideas, sentence structure, and word choice. 

Seek feedback from peers or mentors to gain different perspectives and refine your essay further. This way, your final draft will turn out to be an interesting and valuable piece of work.

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Reflective Essay Structure

The structure of the reflective essay is the same as other types of essays. It contains an introduction, several body paragraphs, and a conclusion. 

Here is the basic reflective essay format that you can use:

Let’s learn about the components of a reflective essay in depth:

Reflective Essay Introduction 

A reflective essay also starts with an introduction, like all other essays. An essay introduction should be brief but relevant to the topic. In this part, you can give a general overview of the topic to the reader.

Start your essay with a strong hook statement . The hook statement is the first thing that the reader reads in the introduction part.

In the introduction part, state the thesis statement but don’t give too much information in this statement.  

Remember that in this part, only give a brief overview and don’t write in-depth information.

Reflective Essay Body Paragraphs

Writing the body paragraphs is the hardest part of the reflective essay. Some writers spend a lot of time writing body paragraphs. If the outline is not created well, then writing the body paragraphs is a time-consuming process.

It is the most important part of the essay and follows the proper chronological order. Describe the main issues in order related to the described event.

The body paragraphs are well-focused, and it is not a summary of your experience. Each body paragraph end with a concluding sentence.     

Reflective Essay Conclusion  

The conclusion is the last part of the essay. In this part, you should provide a summary of the entire essay. Moreover, do not repeat the same point again and again.   

Make sure the conclusion of the essay is powerful and encourages the readers to do further research. In this concluding part, restate the thesis statement, and no need to add new ideas. 

Tips for Writing a Reflective Essay

Here are some writing tips that can make your reflective essay even better, so try following these in your essay:

  • Choose the right topic for the essay, make sure that you have enough information
  • Use an engaging and narrative tone throughout the essay with an overall emotion or theme in mind.
  • Try to make the essay credible and informative
  • Reflect critically on the significance of the experiences and analyze the reasons behind your thoughts, emotions, and reactions.
  • Incorporate relevant theories, concepts, or academic frameworks to deepen your analysis.
  • Be authentic and honest in sharing your insights and lessons learned from the reflection process.
  • Connect your personal experiences to broader contexts or universal themes to create a relatable and impactful essay.
  • Support your thesis statement with strong examples and arguments.

Ref lective Essay For mat

Two commonly used formatting styles for academic writing are the APA and the MLA styles. Each style has its unique guidelines for formatting, including structure, citations, and references. 

APA Style Reflective Essay Format

Formatting your essay in APA requires the following:

  • Times New Roman 
  • Double line-spacing
  • 1" margins 
  • Page number on the top-right 
  • Include the Title Page, Main Body, and References.

MLA Style Reflective Essay Format 

The MLA style recommends the following formatting guidelines:

  • 1” margins
  • Last name and page number in the top-right
  • “Works Cited” section on the last page

Reflective Essay Examples

Check out some reflective essay samples that can give you a better understanding of the reflective essay.    

Reflective Essay Example for High School

Personal Reflective Essay Example

Reflective Essay Outline

Example of Reflective Essay on Learning Experience

Reflective Essay Example About Life Experience

Reflective Essay Topics - H2

In a reflective essay, you write about your personal experience, thoughts, and significant moments of your life. Choosing the right topic for the essay sometimes becomes a challenging task, but here are some ideas that can help you out.  

  • A surprise that you prepared for someone
  • The first thing you think of in the morning
  • When someone’s words made you cry
  • When you laughed uncontrollably with someone
  • Swimming in a mountain lake
  • The experience of an earthquake or natural disasters
  • A vacation place that you liked in particular
  • Crossing a bridge and looking out over the water.
  • Your favorite persuasive essay topic
  • Place where you feel safe

Need more topics to get your thoughts running? Here are more reflective essay topics to help you out!

Writing a reflective essay can be a transformative experience as you discover your own thoughts and feelings along the way. By following the writing steps and tips, you can enhance this experience by writing an essay that is interesting, informative, and engaging. 

So don’t hesitate to start writing a reflective paper today! You’ve got everything you need.

Still, if you are in a race against time or can’t write your essay for other reasons, don’t despair. The auto essay writer at CollegeEssay.org is here to help you out!

We also have a team of expert writers ready to assist you 24/7. Whether you need help with refining your ideas, structuring your essay, or polishing the final draft, we can lend our expertise.

So hire our custom writing service  to receive customized and professional reflective essays within the deadline!

Frequently Asked Questions

How many paragraphs are in a reflective essay.

In a reflective essay, you should follow a 5-paragraph format. However, you can add more paragraphs, and it depends on your chosen topic.

What is the goal of a reflective essay?

Writing a reflective essay aims to explore how they have changed and learned from their experiences.

Barbara P (Literature, Marketing)

Barbara is a highly educated and qualified author with a Ph.D. in public health from an Ivy League university. She has spent a significant amount of time working in the medical field, conducting a thorough study on a variety of health issues. Her work has been published in several major publications.

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Journal of Leadership Education

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  • VIEWING LEADERSHIP HOLISTICALLY: Using Mind Maps to Teach Leadership

Justin Greenleaf, Ph.D., Lori Kniffin, Ph.D., Kaley Klaus, Ed.D., Megan Rust, MPS 10.12806/V22/I2/A1

Introduction

Leadership theory has evolved and expanded over time (Nelson & Squires, 2017), and contemporary theories are built on the foundation set by earlier ones. Many leadership education programs include a course that focuses on understanding various leadership theories and concepts and how they have shaped the field of study (Komives & Sowcik, 2020). Often, this type of course is offered at the beginning of an academic program of study, as this approach allows students in the program to have a shared understanding of the meaning of the term, “leadership.”

Authors within the field (see Dugan, 2017; Ebener & Jalšenjak, 2021; Northouse, 2021, for examples) have created resources to outline historical and contemporary theories of leadership. While these authors present the theories with different organizing schemes, it is clear there are a variety of theories that exist which serve as a foundation for leadership knowledge and practice. Some theories emphasize the individual (e.g., trait and behavior theories), while others highlight the leadership setting (e.g., situational and contextual theories). Each theory provides insight, or an angle, into understanding part of the complex process of leadership; however, it is through synthesizing these ideas that students can think critically about the nature of leadership.

It can be challenging for students to synthesize and integrate leadership theories and concepts. While instructors have a wide range of teaching techniques to use, they are often limited by the time frame of the course. In some cases, especially in short courses (e.g., four to eight weeks), the amount of information introduced, explored, and discussed can be overwhelming. In our experience of teaching leadership theories, we find some students are able to see the forest from the trees, others tend to get lost in the woods. As a coping method, these students tend to choose a theory or concept that resonates with them, and focus narrowly on that concept, rather than try to make sense of all available information. This narrow focus ultimately becomes leadership to them, which leads to the student moving forward from the theory course with a skewed and/or incomplete idea of the leadership process.

In an attempt to address this problem, we created a mind map assignment designed to help students visually organize the relationships among leadership theories and concepts and apply it to their lives. The goal of this assignment was to help students recognize the connections between leadership theories and concepts, and to understand the process of leadership as something happening in the broader context. In this article, we describe our application of using mind maps in an introductory leadership concepts course in our undergraduate program, and present outcomes and implications of this practice. Lastly, we provide recommendations for leadership educators who would like to implement mind mapping as a practice for supporting students when integrating leadership theories and concepts holistically into their lives.

Literature Review

The teaching and learning methods used in any course have an impact on the student learning experience, and there are many methods to choose from when planning a lesson. Popular methods include: lecturing, class discussion, case studies, and role-play activities (Guthrie & Jenkins, 2018). Mind maps have also become a popular study tool in recent years, as a reflective strategy (Wilson et al., 2022), and to help students connect separate ideas and apply that knowledge (Mesa, 2018), as well as introduce knowledge in a more sustainable way (Lozano et al., 2017).

Mind mapping is a brainstorming technique that allows people to develop their ideas by writing down a central idea and developing a “map” of the associations their mind makes with it (Jones, 2012). These associations can be in the form of pictures, different colors, or words connected to the central idea (Keleş, 2012). A mind map is often compared to a tree, with the central idea being the root and the related ideas being branches. In addition to brainstorming, mind maps may be used as a pedagogical tool to generate creative and active learning, help students “recall and connect previous knowledge,” organize information, and enhance critical thinking (Tavares et al., 2021). As technology has developed, it is becoming more common for students to use computer programs, rather than a pencil and paper, to create mind maps (Su et al., 2022), and therefore mind maps have become a more popular activity in the academy.

Tony Buzan popularized mind mapping as a tool to encourage critical thinking in students (Buzan & Buzan, 1996). Since then, mind mapping has been used to improve the critical thinking skills of nursing students (Wu & Wu, 2020), teach mathematical principles (Loc & Loc, 2020), and develop English writing skills (Gou et al., 2021). This strategy allows students to practice active learning and creativity while learning and reviewing information (Tavares et al., 2021). Mind maps give students the opportunity to analyze presented information and find new associations between seemingly unrelated ideas (Davies, 2010). This is considered an active learning strategy that helps students build their knowledge in a way that makes sense to them (Hegarty-McGinley, 2018).

Guthrie and Jenkins (2018) posit that developing knowledge of leadership through theories and concepts “represents a critical part of leadership education,” and that learning occurs “when applying leadership theories and concepts to personal experiences” (p. 59). Mind mapping is an active and practical, pedagogical tool that has been effective in other disciplines, and so in this article, we describe the use of mind mapping within an undergraduate leadership program to help students make connections between leadership theories and their lives, and subsequently, develop their knowledge of leadership.

Context of Application

To understand the outcomes of the mind mapping assignment discussed in this manuscript, it is important to understand the context in which it is administered. Fort Hays State University is a midwestern, public state university, which offers programs in three modalities: on-campus face-to-face, online, and through cross-border partnerships. Offering programs in 31 academic departments, Fort Hays State University offers the only undergraduate major in organizational leadership in the state. In addition, the Department of Leadership Studies offers a minor in leadership studies as well as multiple academic certificates. In total, the Department serves over 500 undergraduate students across all leadership programs, with around 200 students pursuing academic programs domestically on-campus or online, and a little over 300 earning their degree through a cross-border program.

The mind mapping assignment is the culminating assignment in our course, Introduction to Leadership Concepts, which serves as the first core course in our undergraduate major program, minor program, and academic certificate, and is a prerequisite for most undergraduate courses in our programs. The purpose of the course is to introduce students to historical and contemporary theories, concepts, and issues associated with the leadership studies discipline; a multitude of approaches to leadership are covered. The course is offered on-campus and cross-border in a 16-week format, and online in an eight- or 16-week format. Students who participate in the course on-campus are typically of “traditional” student age, between 18-24 years. The online course includes some traditional students but is largely comprised of adult learners—who are defined as those age 25 and above (Chen, 2017; Osam et. al, 2017).

The Introduction to Leadership Concepts course is organized into three units—each covering a sub-set of theories and concepts: (1) leader-centric, (2) relational, (3) context and process. See Table 1 for a list of concepts taught in the course, which are listed as conceptual categories (e.g., ethical leadership) rather than specific theories, models, or frameworks taught within that category (e.g., Kidder’s four patterns of ethical dilemmas).

Leadership Concepts Taught in Introductory Course

Description of Application

This mind map assignment is designed to help students visualize the connections between leadership theories and concepts and their own lives. Students are instructed to identify an area of their life—to establish a specific context—and draw connections to leadership. We encourage students to design “free-form” maps, meaning they have an unconstrained structure, allowing the student to “go where they want” with the map. Because this approach might make it difficult for the instructor to interpret the connections a student makes, students submit an essay alongside their map describing the connections and how and why the leadership concepts apply to any particular piece of life.

Assignment Instructions.  There are three primary components to the assignment: (1) the mind map, (2) a description of the map and reflection on connected leadership concepts, and (3) a brief discussion on their holistic approach to leadership. When creating the mind map, students are asked to connect an area of their life to a minimum of five concepts taught in the introductory course. Our introductory concepts course covers a multitude of theories, models, and general concepts (see Table 1), including: early and contemporary trait and behavioral theories, contingency and situational models, shared leadership concepts (transformational leadership, servant leadership, adaptive leadership), followership, power, influence, organizational culture, leader-member exchange, diversity, and global leadership, so a minimum of five connections is easy to achieve for the students.

Students may use a variety of online platforms to aid this process such as Microsoft PowerPoint, Lucidchart, Plectica, MindMup, Visme, and Mind Meister. Many online platforms are available for free to the students. As noted above, we ask students to identify a piece of their life for which to establish leadership connections in order to set a context for their perspective. Some students select a specific organization they are involved in through work or personal connections, or they may select to connect leadership concepts to their family or friend groups. Once a context is established, it becomes the center “bubble” of the map, and they connect various concepts from that vantage point. We discuss the most common contexts and the leadership connections made in students’ maps later in this article.

Part two of the assignment requires students to describe their connections, with a thorough rationale and reflection on how the leadership concepts map to their life. The description of the map directs the reader on how to follow the connections, while the critical reflection seeks to discuss the connections in greater depth. For example, if a student creates a connection between their part-time job manager and the concept of power, students are expected to discuss how and why the connection to power is relevant, and how it impacts this portion of their life. In this instance, we would expect the student to specify the base of power (i.e., legitimate, coercive, referent, etc.) through which their manager operates, and what it is like, as an employee, to interact with another person who holds that power. Typically, this piece of the assignment is written in about four to six pages, double-spaced.

The final portion of the assignment asks students to define leadership in a personally holistic manner. Essentially, we ask, “Now that you know about all of these concepts, how do YOU define leadership?” This is usually a struggle for our students, as there are many perspectives through which to study leadership, and creating a personal point-of-view on the subject can be challenging. Considering leadership scholars and practitioners have chosen to adopt several definitions for leadership, we cannot be surprised our own students find this a difficult endeavor. We will discuss the outcomes of this particular portion of the assignment later in this article.

At the end of the semester, we also ask our on-campus students to share their map during the final class period of the semester. Though this presentation is not evaluated for a grade, it allows students to recognize the connections they have with each other, in addition to the connections they have to leadership.

Each portion of the assignment is evaluated using an analytic rubric (Figure 1), which specifies multiple levels of achievement the student can attain.

Grading Rubric for Mind Map Assignment

reflective essay mind map

Faculty Approaches to the Assignment .  Because this assignment serves as a culminating piece of the introductory course, faculty introduce the guidelines and expectations early in the term. For example, during a 16-week term, the assignment is introduced during week six of the class, at the conclusion of the first course unit. Students are encouraged to begin thinking about a context on which to base the map at that time, select an online platform with which to build the map, and build the map piece-by-piece throughout the rest of the semester. Of course, as faculty with years of experience, we recognize that while we encourage students to begin this work early, it is not necessarily likely they will do so. With that said, we often incorporate informal check-ins with students to ensure they haven’t “forgotten” about the requirement. We usually do this at the end of the second unit, and mid-way through the third unit.

One way to conduct an informal check-in is to allow students some time in class, or in an online discussion board, to brainstorm contexts and connections for their map. We cannot underestimate the power of communal brainstorming for this assignment; bouncing ideas off of one another helps students formulate their approach to the map. Faculty also allow work time during class to give students the opportunity to clarify expectations and ask questions toward the end of the term.

Moreover, mind mapping is a new concept to most students in this course; therefore, providing opportunities for students to create mind maps in class can give them practice in mapping. For example, one of the authors has implemented an in-class activity for on-campus students to map their personal identities during the course chapter on diversity and leadership. Referring to Loden’s primary and secondary dimensions of identity (see Loden, 1996), students practice the process of mapping by identifying their own dimensions and mapping each one to themselves. Doing this activity has helped students feel more comfortable with the practice of mind mapping prior to formulating their final mind map assignment.

Outcomes and Implications

We reviewed 99 mind map assignments submitted in our on-campus and online courses in the spring 2022 semester to determine whether this assignment is effective in helping students connect a holistic view of leadership to their life. We examined three primary components of the submissions: (1) how students chose to organize their mind map, (2) the leadership concepts students displayed in their mind maps and how they are applied, and (3) how students defined their personal holistic approach to leadership.

Organization of Mind Maps.  There were three ways students chose to organize their mind maps: (1) placing themselves at the center of the map, (2) placing an organization at the center of the map, and (3) placing themselves or an organization at the center of their map but, with a metaphorical representation.

Organizing with the Self. The most common way students organized their mind map was to put themselves at the center, or as the primary foundation, of the map, and think about their life as a whole, rather than focusing on one area. Typically, each branch related to another area of their life such as their family, social groups, or organizations. These maps usually featured at least one theory for each branch of their life. For example, a student might map their family and connect authentic leadership to describe their mother; they may also include a student organization they are involved in and connect types of power to describe the officers in the group. Figure 2 displays a mind map created by David, a student who aligned both his personal and professional roles to multiple leadership approaches.

David’s Personal Mind Map

reflective essay mind map

Organizing with an Organization. Another common way students organized their map was by putting a group or organization at the center. For example, student athletes often put their teams at the center; the branches of the map typically related to people within that team such as a coach, themselves, a captain, and upperclassmen. Students also placed organizations in which they are involved in the center. Figure 3 provides an example through which a student involved in 4-H defined multiple aspects of the organization and leadership concepts such as power, followership, and organizational culture. Adult learners often applied this method in the contexts of their workplace.

4-H Organization Mind Map

reflective essay mind map

Organizing with Metaphors and Images. A less common, though notable, method in which students organized their map was to create an image or metaphor to design their map. For example, one student mapped a house where each element (the foundation, walls, windows, and roof) represented different leadership theories and concepts. Another student designed a butterfly; the wings symbolized two major elements of her leadership practice, and the center of the butterfly and the antennae represented her values and beliefs that founded her leadership practices. Some students also used images within their map to illustrate connections to leadership theories or concepts. For example, one student described symbols related to organizational culture, and she included several images representing the cultural symbols of the Scouts of America organization. Figure 4 represents a metaphorical map from a student involved in the Future Farmers of America (FFA) organization; she created her map in the shape of an ear of corn, which is a symbol included in the FFA emblem (FFA, 2022).

FFA Ear of Corn Mind Map

reflective essay mind map

Leadership Concepts and Applications.

Leadership concepts. Students chose to include a wide variety of leadership concepts in their mind maps. In our review, we found over 20 concepts were mapped, with the most common concept being power, followed by servant leadership, followership, and behavioral theories. The least commonly mapped concepts were social change, charismatic leadership, and management versus leadership. While one may assume students chose to map the concepts most recently covered in the course, we discovered students mapped concepts found in all three units of the class (see Table 2), suggesting this assignment challenged students to apply, comprehensively, a variety of leadership theories and concepts–historical and contemporary–in their map. Overall, students included an average of 4.71 leadership concepts in their maps, with the most being seven theories used and the least being one.

Frequency of Leadership Concepts Cited in Student Mind Maps

Application of concepts. Students applied theories and concepts in multiple ways throughout their maps. The students who chose to center themselves in their mind maps often used the people in their lives to exhibit their chosen leadership theories. For example, students often chose to connect leadership concepts to their family members, followed by friends and coworkers. Notably, when students included their family members in the map, they often connected their mothers with servant leadership and their fathers with the use of power. Some students also chose to connect themselves directly to leadership theories. For example, Figure 2 demonstrates how one student, David, considers himself a servant leader because he is a provider, understands others’ needs, and supports others’ goals. Servant leadership was one of the most common connections students made to themselves, along with followership.

Students who placed an organization at the center of their map often took the opportunity to discuss aspects of the organizational culture. As shown in Figure 3, this student referred to mechanisms of culture to describe aspects of the organization; they noted rites and ceremonies, symbols, and the specialized language of 4-H. Further, the student identified leadership styles others used at different points in 4-H operations. Power was also a popular topic among maps aligned with organizations, as students often noted the types of power held by leaders of the organization (see Figure 3), as well as the influence tactics they may use (see Figure 4).

A noticeable trend among the use of the most cited concepts includes connecting those concepts to individuals or specific roles rather than the process or activities associated with leadership. For example, when making connections with power, students often identified a specific person in their life or organization and explained the types of power that person holds. Similarly, with servant leadership, authentic leadership, and various leadership traits or behaviors, students identified individuals who exemplified that approach to leadership. This approach to designing their map might imply that students continue to view leadership from a primarily leader-centric perspective. Perhaps this is because historical theories are leader-centric and are taught in the first unit, which is heavily aligned with popular understandings of leadership. While we shift to contextual/process perspectives later in the semester, it may be difficult for students to fully shift perspectives away from foundational leader-centric theories. It is worth exploring whether a shift in the order of our course units would make an impact on student understanding of contemporary approaches.

Personal Holistic Approaches.  To better understand the outcomes of the mind map assignment, we examined how students viewed leadership theories and concepts before and after designing their map. An exam is given at the end of each unit, so we added an essay question to the unit three exam which included the same prompt as students would later answer in their mind map essay: “Describe how you would connect the various theories we’ve learned this semester into a holistic approach to leadership.” We reviewed the exam responses and compared them to the responses in the mind map paper for patterns/themes.

Pre-Assignment Exam. The exam was the first time the students were asked to connect theories to create a holistic approach to leadership. Because this was on an exam, they did not have time to prepare a response or review the concepts within their notes. In reviewing the answers, we noticed several patterns.

  • Students cited theories and concepts used more recently (likely because they were on the exam).
  • Theories and concepts concerning adaptation were particularly popular. Students often discussed the need to “adapt to [the follower’s] needs,” and be prepared to adapt to “new goals and expectations” as a project evolves. This often did not include reference to a specific theory or model covered in the course.
  • Students included values and ethics into a model of holistic leadership. According to students, leaders should be able to “integrate their value[s] into their everyday actions” to inspire followers to do the same. They also explored the need for leaders to “define [their] values” and voice those values to their team members.
  • The majority of students commented on only one to two theories or concepts.
  • More students left this essay question unanswered, compared to other essay questions on the exam.

Mind Map Essay. After using the mind map to connect leadership theories and concepts they have seen in their own lives, students were able to create a larger and more holistic view of leadership. Their responses were more varied and more intentionally written than the exam responses. In the essay portion of their mind map, students wrote about a variety of concepts covered across the class curriculum, from all three units of content. For example, the first unit in the class is leader-centric theories, and students often incorporated statements about the traits and behaviors of a leader within their definition. Leaders who can “change their leadership style based on their surroundings” are considered successful as well as leaders who possess “good traits” for leadership.

The second unit in the class focuses on relational theories, and students focused on followership and change. Students included followers in their holistic view of leadership and put an emphasis on “valuing” their followers and communicating clearly with them. Some students also included the idea that “being a good follower is the first step” to becoming a good leader. The second relational theme they discussed was the idea of servant leadership. While in the maps many students connected this theory to their mothers or their pastor, this approach was highly referenced as their primary approach to leadership.

Students also brought forward theories from the final unit on context and process, primarily concentrating on process. Students often focused on values, authentic leadership, and adaptive leadership. One student commented that it is important for a leader to “articulate [their] values and expectations” to their team in order to create a positive environment. Other students commented that values are “important” in the leadership process. Holistic leadership also includes authenticity on the part of the leader. It “bring[s] honesty to the work environment” and requires a leader to “be authentic with their values.” The theme of adaptability was also popular in the student essay responses. It is crucial for a leader to “recognize what the group needs” when facing challenges.

Implications.  Our intention was not to use the response to the exam and essay prompts as pre/post data to explore scientific variables associated with student mind mapping, but rather to explore the approaches students took to thinking holistically about theories and concepts learned in the course. When the students were asked to describe theories and concepts holistically in the exam, they had a difficult time drawing upon specific approaches taught in the course and making concrete connections to their lives. While it may seem obvious that students would respond to the prompt with more thoughtfulness and concreteness in the mind map assignment, we point to this as the primary implication of our application.

Students need intentional time to reflect on what they have learned—especially as it relates to themselves—and mind mapping provides that structured opportunity. In our dialogue with students about this assignment—before and after class or through email—we found selecting the organizing structure of the map is one of the most difficult steps. Many students struggle to begin thinking about how leadership theories and concepts can be integrated into their lives. As they grapple through organizing the map and work to connect the theories and concepts into a comprehensive visual, it becomes clearer on how they would connect theories and concepts holistically into an area of their lives.

Recommendations 

The application of a mind map tool provides a variety of benefits to leadership educators. While this article describes the integration of leadership theories and concepts, it is certainly not limited to that subject matter. For example, mind maps could be used to assist students in understanding the interaction of various leadership styles or personalities, deepen the exploration of cross-cultural differences, or map the working relationship between team members. It also allows educators to diversify their teaching strategies and better serve students with diverse learning styles (Guthrie & Jenkins, 2018). For those interested in implementing mind maps, clarity is an important consideration. As described above, prior to presenting the idea of mind mapping to students, one should carefully think through the reason behind the use of the maps, how the work will be described and understood by the student, and how it will be evaluated.

Limitations of the work described in this manuscript include that there is little to no evidence of true understanding. While the comparison of the exam responses to the mind map essays showed an expanded use of theory, there was no attempt to demonstrate the conceptual framework in any type of applied setting. It would be difficult to replicate the results of this work due to the varied nature of leadership programs and curriculum design (Greenleaf et al., 2018). Despite these limitations, future research could easily build on the foundation provided by this work to experiment with or improve the use of mind maps. It would be worthwhile to delve deeper into how these reflections shape students’ long-term perception and understanding of leadership, as well as how that understanding manifests itself in individual attempts to engage in the act of leadership.

Mind mapping is a pedagogical tool that helps students brainstorm how to organize information in a way that incorporates creative and active learning, as well as critical thinking. We shared an example of using mind maps in an undergraduate course focused on teaching leadership theory—including the assignment description, rubric, and a discussion of the application broadly. We discussed how we have seen students organize their maps based on themselves, organizations, or metaphors to integrate theories into their lives. Through this practice, we found that mind mapping leadership theories and concepts to areas of their life can develop students’ ability to describe how leadership theories operate more holistically in their life, rather than narrowing their understanding to one or two popular concepts. Thus, we recommend leadership educators consider mind mapping as a pedagogical tool to teach leadership theories and concepts that require understanding in a broader context. Future research on this learning tool in leadership education could also help us understand the impact it has on student learning outcomes. 

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  1. Mind Maps for Essay Writing (Guide + Examples)

    1) Write the subject in the center of your paper / canvas. 2) Draw branches that point away from the center. Each branch symbolizes one thought or idea related to the subject. Use meaningful keywords to write these ideas onto the branches. 3) From each branch more ideas can branch off.

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    While the comparison of the exam responses to the mind map essays showed an expanded use of theory, there was no attempt to demonstrate the conceptual framework in any type of applied setting. It would be difficult to replicate the results of this work due to the varied nature of leadership programs and curriculum design (Greenleaf et al., 2018).

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